Sink or Swim
by spinzgirl
Summary: Part three of the series following "Bonding" and "Through Your Eyes" The team visits Lance's hometown in Cuba and enjoys a day relaxing on the beach. At least as best as they can, given the circumstances. Next chapter: "What Happens in Cuba"


Keith dug his toes into the dry sand, possibly in the hope he'd take root in his spot on the beach. Even though he grew up surrounded by the stuff, it just wasn't the same as being here on the shores of Varadero, where the Atlantic joined the Gulf of Mexico. No barrier divided the two, and it would take a massive undertaking to do so. He mused at how two bodies of water flowed into each other and yet were separate.

Kind of like how things were with Allura. Or had been, at least. He thought they were two bodies flowing into the other as well. The current he had long imagined could not be altered was suddenly cut off by a cursed kiss and harsh words. The dam may have been designed by Lotor but Keith had built it himself.

He was happy they were at least on speaking terms again. Weeks passed and the discomfort had begun to subside, but the ease they'd long shared failed to resurface. Keith suspected Allura had begun to confide in Krolia, possibly because of her short history with the team. For that he was thankful, though, because his mother could advise her without bias. He'd never told his mom about his feelings for the Princess, after all.

And for her part Allura seemed happier. She had jumped at the chance to meet Lance's family and relax with friends after spending so long working on Earth's new defense system. In fact, the sound of her laughing and splashing in the water with Romelle, Lance, and Matt, made him think she was sounding a lot more like her old self. That made him incredibly happy, even if it did sting a little.

He chanced a glance their direction and was flustered when he immediately met her gaze. At first he expected her to look away but instead she smiled and waved for him to join them. Nervously he waved back, almost tempted to check over his shoulder to see if Pidge or Hunk were standing behind him.

Nope, he could see them in the distance looking for seashells. And Coran was sunning himself dangerously close to the water's edge. If that was the case he was the only one left she could be waving to, right?

Just as he was getting his nerve up to join them he felt a gritty foot shove playfully at his back. Confused he let his head loll backwards to see Lance's sister, Veronica, smiling down at him. She was holding two drinks and had a beach towel tucked under her arm.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked, briefly setting down the drinks to unfurl her blanket before he could even respond.

They'd only been in Cuba for a day and Keith had barely spoken with any of Lance's siblings, so he wasn't sure what his sister could possibly want with him. Maybe she'd heard about their contentious relationship, or how her brother viewed them as rivals. She didn't seem angry though so- despite being annoyed that he was blocked from having fun with Allura- he decided to take the friendly approach.

"Sure, go ahead."

He wasn't sure why he'd bothered responding but figured it was still polite to do so. She flashed a bright smile of gratitude, handing one of the slushy drinks to Keith before planting herself next to him. After thanking her for the treat he sat for a while slowly slurping the mix of tropical fruits, wondering to himself why he'd never learned to identify poisons by their taste. Veronica was all of five-foot-two so not a danger physically, at least. He could take her in a knife fight.

"So Keith, how do you like it here?" Her question brought him back to reality, making him feel a bit guilty for making such wild assumptions about her.

"It's nice. You must like living so close to the beach, huh?" he asked, hoping to keep the conversation to a minimum.

Veronica gave him a quick once-over before responding. "The scenery has gotten a lot nicer, for sure," she answered with a wink.

Despite his social ineptitude Keith was beginning to suspect she _might_ just be flirting with him. The flushed feeling in his cheeks seemed to confirm this. Granted she was certainly cute; her curly hair and bright eyes and sunny disposition were attractive features for certain. But they were more attractive on Allura, that he couldn't deny.

Allura, the goddess playing in the surf. Her white hair pulled into a ponytail that bounced adorably as she chased the others with a bucket of water. Her dark skin and gentle curves perfectly complemented by a fiery red bikini. A bikini a top that tied around her neck and back.

 _Ties that looked dangerously loose and why wasn't someone telling her to double knot them?_

"Hellooooo! Earth to Keith!"

Keith's eyes blinked instinctively as a manicured hand snapped fingers in his face. He hadn't even realized that the woman sitting next to him had been trying to get his attention for several seconds. Despite managing to stutter out an apology he knew she wasn't in a forgiving mood. Her eyes could have pierced a hole in his head as intently as she was glaring at him.

She didn't break her focus until she noticed his focus had shifted to the distance once again. Glancing over her shoulder she let out a dejected sigh, her head dropping as the realization apparently set in. Then she turned her attention back to Keith, angrily snatching the half-finished drink from his hands.

"Look, I don't know what your story is," she started, "but you're going to walk your ass over there and be honest with that girl."

"I wha? Wh- who?" he stuttered. If he was hoping to play this off he was failing miserably.

Veronica stood grabbed her towel, shaking it off in his direction. Keith jumped up to protect his face from the blast of sand.

"What the hell?"

"Guess you have to go in the water now, don't you?" she smirked. "Better hurry, you might miss your chance to come clean."

Swiftly she turned to walk away, whipping her hair as she sauntered off to the spot where her brothers were hanging out with their families. Pausing for just a moment she looked back in Keith's direction, winking at him but this time in a way that wasn't in the least bit suggestive. This time is was like she'd given him the secret to a code he hadn't yet deciphered.

After a foolhardy attempt to brush himself off he resigned himself to take her advice and jump in the ocean, figuring it would be way more effective than the showers posted near the dunes. He ducked into the waves a few times with the hope the current had done most of the work for him. As he emerged the last time he just happened to catch a glimpse of red in the corner of his eye. Instinctively his eyes rolled in that direction as red had become an important color to him.

Allura was looking at him, concern coloring her features.

Had she seen everything?

* * *

Allura had seen everything.

Well, most of it. She tried to pretend she didn't see Lance's super-hot sister approach Keith as the she herself was trying to get his attention. The others didn't seem to notice her distraction at the sight of the seductress wooing the handsome paladin as he sat alone, far out of earshot.

And she was definitely proud of the fact that she didn't outwardly cheer when Veronica stormed away, obviously after Keith had rebuffed her advances.

She did feel a bit badly for him having sand rained over his head. On the bright side, she thought, he's in the water now. Despite the coolness of the day she felt a sudden spike in temperature as she watched the ocean bead around his chiseled form, his muscles accented by the outlines it traced.

"Head's up!"

Matt's alert came half-a-tick before the beach ball struck the side of her face. It didn't really even hurt but for whatever reason she yelped as her hand rushed to cradle her right cheek. Embarrassed she hoped to simply play it off, waving her hand and playfully kicking water in Matt's direction before chasing after the ball that had been pulled further out to sea.

By the time she reached it the water was much deeper, nearly covering her shoulders. She grabbed the ball, holding it high over her head triumphantly as Lance cheered her on. Or at least that's what she thought he was doing. It was an obvious misunderstanding.

The wave that crashed over her head was far more powerful than the ones closer to shore. It swept her off her feet as she felt her body being sucked further out. Frantically she tried to gain a foothold as she struggled to keep her head above the surf. A second wave pushed her back down, sending her into a panic.

Suddenly a pair of arms came from behind and wrapped around her waist, pulling her to the surface. She sputtered as her rescuer swam parallel to the shoreline to an area where the waters were much calmer.

 _Right, Lance had told her about riptides. She'd completely forgotten._

As they came to a stop the grip on her loosened but didn't let go completely. She could still feel the warmth of his chest against her back, his breathing labored. Something told her that if she turned around she'd be met with a very familiar face. And yet she hesitated to do so for fear her instinct was wrong.

"Allura, are you okay?"

Despite the fact that she'd almost just drowned she couldn't imagine being more okay. Of all the voices in the universe it was the one she hoped to hear most. Maybe that was because it belonged to the man she'd loved for so long, who as always was the one to save her when she felt she could no longer breathe.

"I'm fine, thank you."

No, that's not what she wanted to say. What did she want to say? Words had always flowed so easily between them before, but now they were stuck in her throat and threatened to choke her.

Instead she turned to face him, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him tightly to her. To her dismay his body went rigid, his arms floating languidly at her sides. Her heart sank as she realized he may not have forgiven her yet. Perhaps he never would.

"Um, Allura," Keith finally spoke, his voice cracking slightly. "I think you lost something."

Lost something? Surely he wasn't concerned about the stupid beach ball. No,he wasn't looking out, he was looking up. So Allura looked up too, then to her left. Her right. Then over his shoulder.

 _Oh._

The something was the item that Pidge was trying to flag her down with. The red triangular flags that had been plucked from the ocean. The familiar top that should have been a barrier between their skin. She cursed the red strings that cruelly taunted her as they danced in the breeze.

"Keith?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you please fetch that for me?"

This time it was Keith's turn to sputter. "Um, sure, I guess." Finally he lowered his gaze to hers and she could see the pink that was spreading over his cheeks. "Let's get you a bit closer to shore first, though."

Allura swam obediently behind him, stopping once she had to crouch significantly to maintain her dignity. She watched Keith drag himself through the foamy waves towards Pidge, awkwardly accepting the offering of Allura's immodesty with the grace of a child holding a smelly sock. For a moment she thought to be offended, until he made his next move which was towards the beach.

Rage began to boil her blood, the cool water surrounding her hissing steam as it lapped her skin. She watched as he raced for his towel, snatching it up quickly. Forcefully he shook the sand loose and threw it over his shoulder. If he planned to leave her stranded there while he ran off with the-

 _Ah._

Anger turned to embarrassment as the Princess realized he was headed back to her. Of all people to trust, Keith should always be the first. Well, maybe Coran. But Keith would certainly be next. He'd always been there for her when she needed him, even when she wasn't willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. That's the kind of man he'd been since the day they met.

Once he reached her he held out the bikini top rather unceremoniously, waiting for her to grab it. Then Keith unfurled the towel, holding it end to end between his fingers. She realized he was offering her some privacy so she could stand to redress. He even had his eyes shut so tightly his entire face was scrunched up. Even though he looked much older than before he still had a boyish charm to him, she thought.

It took a few minutes of stretching and fumbling and barely getting a bow tied around her neck before Allura resigned herself to ask for assistance. Romelle had helped her put the top on that morning because it was rather difficult to tie a knot behind her own back. Add the difficulty of not getting her hair caught in said tie, the mission became nearly impossible.

So, she stood musing. For Keith to help her he would need to drop the towel. If he did that, she'd have no privacy. However, his shoulders were now much broader, and his chest, well….she was sure it was enough to block the view from the shore. Grabbing the remaining straps and holding them behind her she called Keith's name to get his attention.

 _Three times._

The last time she raised her voice as she shot a glance over her shoulder. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else besides there. The third time she called he jumped and nearly dropped the makeshift privacy curtain.

"Yes, Princess," he responded stiffly.

"Can you tie this for me, please?"

He cocked his head slightly and blinked back his surprise. "Sure, I guess. I mean, if it's okay."

"Of course it's okay," she laughed in response. Did he think she would ask if it wasn't?

"I'll try not to touch you then," he promised as he swept her ponytail over her shoulder.

"Don't try too hard."

Allura shocked herself with such a response, but Keith? He was even more unsteady than before. She worried that he might fail to tie it properly his hands were shaking so much. Still, she relished the feel of his fingertips as they brushed her skin. Once he finished she asked him to retie the one around her neck and thankfully he complied. Certainly he noticed the raised bumpy flesh on the back of her neck as his hands ghosted across it.

"All set."

"Oh," she responded, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Well, I hope you tied them properly. Can't have that happen again."

Keith laughed humorlessly at the statement, then cleared his throat. "Those knots will never come undone. You're safe, Princess."

Allura spun around wide-eyed upon hearing that. "Never? As in ever?"

"It would take my blade to get you out of that," he teased, apparently amused at her panicked state.

 _Two could play at this game, mister._

"Then I suppose I'll come see you it's time to get undressed," she retorted, poking him with her finger to emphasize her point.

To her surprise he simply narrowed his eyes and smiled suggestively.

"Room 111. I'll be waiting."


End file.
